US applauds Japan-South Korea ‘comfort women’ agreement

The Obama administration is applauding an agreement between Japan and South Korea in which Tokyo will pay $8.3 million to Seoul for a fund designed to help “comfort women” abducted during World War II. 

Up to 200,000 young women from South Korea and other nations occupied by Japan were forced into sex slavery.

Under the new agreement, which both sides called a “final and irrevocable resolution,” Japan issued an apology and promised an $8.3 million payment. 

“The United States applauds the leaders of the [Republic of Korea] and Japan, two of our most important allies, for having the courage and vision to forge a lasting settlement to this difficult issue,” National Security Advisor Susan Rice said Monday in a written statement. “We look forward to deepening our work with both nations on a wide range of regional and global issues, on the basis of mutual interests and shared values, as well as to advancing trilateral security cooperation.”

The agreement comes after years of animosity between the two countries on the issue. Former comfort women had demanded an apology and reparations from Japan, while Japanese right-wingers disputed the accounts of the women. Some Japanese officials, citizens and Japanese-Americans have said the women volunteered to work in the brothels or were forced to by their parents or other Koreans.

Japan issued an apology in 1993, but that itself has been disputed.

Secretary of State John Kerry echoed Rice in congratulating the two countries on reaching an agreement.

“We believe this agreement will promote healing and help to improve relations between two of the United States’ most important allies,” Kerry said in a written statement. “We applaud the leaders of Japan and the Republic of Korea for having the courage and vision to reach this agreement, and we call on the international community to support it. We look forward to continuing to work with both countries on regional and global issues, including advancing our economic ties and security cooperation.”